The End Before It Begins
by Silent Spirit 17
Summary: What if Celestia stopped Nightmare Moon before she had a chance? Luna shut her out. But what if Celestia didn't give up that easily? (Based on the bedroom scene in "Lullaby for a Princess")


Celestia tried to think of what she could do. What would cheer Luna up? Before, she hadn't realized Luna was so upset, but she had to do something. She couldn't watch her sister cry and walk away like it was nothing.

"Oh, Luna, do you want to-"

Before she could finish, Luna furiously lashed out, pointing an accusing hoof at her. "Get out! You don't understand! Leave me alone!"

Celestia was stunned, and that shock quickly turned to anger. But she tried to stay composed. She noticed a few empty bottles near Luna's bed. _"Calm down,"_ Celestia thought to herself. _"She might be drunk. Don't yell back."_

"I was trying to suggest-"

"I don't want your suggestions!" Luna yelled. "Get out!"

"Will you let me finish?!" Celestia snapped. "I didn't do anything to you! Why are you angry with me?!"

"GET OUT!" Luna slammed her hooves down with enough force to crack the floor beneath them. She magically shut the doors right in her sister's face, crying angrily all the while. Something... something was beginning to cloud her mind. Was it only her anger? Pain? Something hurt.

She was interrupted when her doors burst open and she was face-to-face with an equally furious Celestia.

"Don't you ever slam the doors on me again!" Celestia barked at her.

"GET OUT!" Luna demanded.

"No, Luna!" Celestia retorted. "Something is wrong with you! Tell me!"

"You don't care! You don't understand at all!" Luna argued.

"Then, tell me so I can understand!" Celestia yelled. "What is it? Why are you so angry? You've been drinking. What made you so angry, you'd drown your sorrows like that?"

"You never cared what bothered me before!" Luna yelled. "You celebrate everypony's admiration of you as they bask in your precious light! You have everything! You don't need anypony else here besides you! You don't need me!"

Those words stung. Not only because it was Luna saying them, but because most of it was true, and Celestia knew it. She and Luna didn't spend much time together. Come to think of it, outside of political meetings or special events, she couldn't recall them spending any time together after they took Equestria's throne. But surely, that was just life. They didn't have time. She could do nothing about that. And Luna had eventually withdrawn herself from such events anyway. Celestia had just assumed she was getting under the weather, but when she thought about it, she did recall Luna was usually quiet during those meetings while she did all the talking.

Nevertheless, there was one part of that rant she could argue against.

"Luna, that's not true!" Celestia insisted. "Of course, I need you here!"

Luna attempted to shut her out again, but Celestia jumped out of the way to avoid the doors being slammed in her face a second time.

"Whatever it is, we can solve it!" Celestia pleaded, though still angry. "All you have to do is tell me what's wrong!"

"What do you think is wrong?!" Luna roared, her temper somehow rising over its boiling point. Luna suddenly began to feel herself lose control. In blind rage, she lunged at her sister.

"Luna, have you lost your mind?!" Celestia yelled, hopping to the side to avoid the hit. "What has come over you?!"

"For the last time, GET... OUUUUT!" Luna's voice not only sounded furious, but now had a dangerous tone to it. Celestia still refused to leave, both out of her own fury and concern for her sister's sake. But this only set Luna off and she body slammed Celestia, though the shoe was quickly on the other hoof when Celestia threw her off and stood over her, pinning her hooves to the floor.

"What is the matter with you?!" Celestia demanded. "I was trying to help! You didn't give me a chance! You attacked me!"

Celestia could say no more, as Luna managed to kick her off with her hind legs, causing her to slam right into Luna's bed. Luna lunged at her again, but she threw herself sideways, forcing Luna to give herself the same injury. Furious tears streamed down Celestia's face. She didn't want this to continue.

"Please! Just tell me what's gotten into you! Please!" she begged, but her plea seemed to fall on deaf ears. However, Luna didn't attack her again. Instead, she ran out of her bedroom, but Celestia ran after her. This wasn't just anger. It wasn't just sadness. Luna needed help. As soon as that realization crossed Celestia's mind, she felt riddled with guilt. This was her fault. She let this happen. Why was she just seeing this now, when Luna was clearly on edge? As much as she didn't want to admit it, even to herself, Luna told the truth in saying she celebrated everypony's admiration of her. Had that spotlight really blinded her so much to her sister's pain? Here she'd been, pleading with her sister to say what was wrong, but she had. She had told her what was wrong. Celestia had failed to listen, to see it, until now. But that guilt made her all the more determined to put an end to this.

 _"I'm sorry, Luna,"_ she thought to herself. _"You're right. I didn't show I cared before. But you have all of my attention now. I'm here for you. I'll save you."_

The chase continued up to the balcony, where the sisters would raise and lower the sun and the moon. Celestia didn't understand why Luna would run here. It was already nighttime. Was she going to try to escape into the dream realm?

Celestia got her answer when Luna suddenly stopped. She walked slowly to the balcony's railing and looked over Equestria. Celestia followed, but stayed quiet and stood at the doorway to see what she was intending to do. Celestia saw her shiver as she put one hoof on the railing. Then, another. A third. Finally, she was fully on top of the railing. Although a river of tears still streamed down her face, she suddenly seemed calm as she looked downwards. She closed her eyes and shakily lifted one of her front hooves. When her wings didn't extend, that's when Celestia knew.

"NO, LUNA!" Celestia extended her own wings and grabbed Luna off of the railing. Luna fought to get free, but Celestia used levitation to restrain her and bring her back inside. She laid Luna on the floor and stood over her once more, pinning her hooves to the floor. The more Luna struggled, the stronger Celestia made the spell to keep her in place until Luna finally realized she was not winning this fight. With her energy exhausted, Luna stopped struggling. She couldn't even cry anymore. At least, not audibly.

"LUNA, I AM SORRY!" Celestia shouted, not caring her sister's face was mere inches away from her own. "I AM SORRY! I LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU! YOU WENT DOWN THIS DARK ROAD AND I SAW NOTHING UNTIL NOW! IF YOU ARE ANGRY, IF YOU WANT TO ATTACK ME, IF THAT WILL RELEASE ALL OF THIS PAIN, GO AHEAD! DO ANYTHING! **ANYTHING EXCEPT LEAVE ME!** "

The exhaustion had finally cleared Luna's mind. She still hurt, but her anger was gone. She saw her sister, no longer through rage, but clearly through sad eyes. And what she saw reflected in her sister's glare wasn't fury, but heartbreak. What had she done?

Celestia lowered her voice, though not to an ordinary speaking tone. Just enough that her voice wasn't booming.

"Luna, I am the princess of the sun!" Celestia continued. "I raise the run for all of Equestria! But you... you are my sun! You're right! I do bask in their admiration! I admit it! But I love you, Luna! If I thought for a minute this was happening to you, I would've done something much sooner! I don't know how much of this you understand! I don't know if you are in your right mind anymore!" Celestia finally lowered her voice to a normal tone, albeit only because the yelling was making her throat ache. "But please... I don't want to be ruler of this kingdom without you. No matter how our subjects view you, you are equal to me. I have never thought otherwise. You are my sun... my moon... my precious sister..." Her voice lowered to a pained whisper. "...the greatest gift I have. Please don't leave me."

And the stream of tears came again, but this time, they were purely out of guilt and sadness. There was no more anger to be had between the sisters. Only pain, one from heartbreak and the other from depression. For a long while, the sound of Celestia's crying filled the room and nothing else could be heard. Everything had finally spilled out from both.

It wasn't until Celestia had cried long enough to begin choking that she realized her head was now against something soft and comforting. She felt her back being patted and a soothing whisper in her ear. She tried to sit upright, but she was being held tightly, and that hold got tighter when she tried to move. It took her only a moment to figure it out and she wrapped her own hooves around her hugger just as tightly. She stopped coughing and dried her eyes, though she couldn't form a smile just yet.

Since she lost her focus in restraining Luna, Celestia had freed her from the levitation spell when she broke down. Luna had slipped from beneath her and grabbed her, embracing her with a desperate and almost violent need. They needed to talk, but neither wanted to let go of the other. So, they sat there, all crying ceased, until one of them found that strength.

Finally, it was Luna who loosened her hold, though slowly and in regret of the loss of contact. Celestia did the same, but it was no easier for her. They walked down the stairs from the balcony in silence and went to Celestia's room to rest near her fireplace. Celestia pulled her blanket over both of them, letting them rest together. Though she didn't want to, Luna broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, Celestia."

"So am I."

Luna shook her head. "You don't have anything to apologize for. This was my fault. I shouldn't have lashed out at you. I should've let you try to help. If you still want to know, I broke. I want the citizens to love me and my nights like they love you and daytime. I wanted you to pay attention to me for once. They don't love me. I thought you didn't love me. I felt like I had nothing. So, why be here?"

For a moment, Celestia looked away in shame, but she quickly turned back to her sister. "No, I do owe you an apology. Being a good ruler doesn't exempt me from being a big sister. There's no reason I should've taken this long to catch on. I'm not sure what I can do to make the citizens more appreciative of your nights, but I will think of something."

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter!" Celestia quickly interjected. "Anything that hurts you does matter. And please do something for me."

"Of course," Luna said.

"Don't ever indulge in alcohol again," Celestia told her, though she couldn't find the sternness to match. "Do you want to make a pact? If I mind you more, you'll be more open and come to me?"

"Yes. Yes, I can do that," Luna answered softly.

"Good. And listen. You don't deserve to feel that way," Celestia said. "I may have been screaming at the top of my lungs, but I meant every word."

"Every word?" Luna asked. "Your sun... your moon... your..."

"My precious sister," Celestia repeated. "The greatest gift I have. I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

Luna finally smiled, as did Celestia when she noticed. Luna leaned her head into Celestia's neck as Celestia put a hoof around her. All of a sudden, she pulled the hoof back.

"Luna, I got it!"

"What?" Luna picked her head back up.

"The summer solstice is almost here and the festival will be happening soon," Celestia explained. "What if, this year, I declare it a night festival? And you raising the moon can signal its start?"

"Re... really?"

"Yes! We can both partake in the festivities," Celestia told her. "And you can sing on stage!"

"I don't know about that..." Luna said with blushing cheeks, though the idea clearly added to her smile.

"Sure, you can! The citizens will be celebrating all night into the early morning," Celestia explained. "And when I raise the sun, it'll signal the festival's end. What if... what if I sing for you as you raise the moon for the festival, and you sing for me as I raise the sun?"

Luna almost couldn't believe her sister was saying all of this. She loved the idea! But...

"No, sister. I don't deserve it," Luna declined sadly.

"Yes, you do," Celestia assured her. "Forget what happened today. It's all over. You deserve to be celebrated too. You are every much Equestria's ruler as I am. So? If you say no, I'll nag you."

Luna's smile returned with a small laugh. "Okay! I'll do it! Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Is there anything else that's bothering you?" Celestia asked. "Let's get all of it out tonight."

"Well... one more thing."

"I'm listening. What is it?"

Luna giggled mischievously. "That wasn't alcohol. That was your sweet cider. I couldn't find the alcohol."

"You took my favorite sweet cider?!" Celestia quickly covered her mouth upon realizing her outburst while Luna fell into a fit of laughter. "Wait, you don't like that cider."

"Exactly!"

"You prankster... well, glad you're feeling better! Guess what I can do?"

"And what's that?" Luna asked.

"This!"

Luna found herself trapped in a playful fury of tickling hooves. She laughed hysterically, and Celestia was laughing right along with her.

After a minute, Celestia stopped, figuring Luna had enough. They hadn't behaved that way since they were fillies. Finally, they settled themselves down and began to fall asleep.

"Wait! The dream realm!" Luna said suddenly.

"Take a night off," Celestia suggested. "Equestria will be okay for one night."

Luna laid back down and rested her head against Celestia again as the latter held her close with her hoof. The sisters fell asleep easily, and only their snoring sounded throughout the night. The darkness that'd begun to consume Luna had evaporated. If what Celestia said was a sign of things to come, if she really helped Luna change things for the better, that darkness wouldn't traipse Luna's mind again.


End file.
